Owensboro ended the regular season looking like a team poised to make a deep playoff run. Head Coach Jay Fallin said it was the most complete game of the year, with the Red Devils making big plays in all three phases to roll past Henderson County for a 55-18 win Friday at Rash Stadium.
In a game that featured two strong defenses, it was the offense that shined — particularly through the ground game. OHS finished with 476 yards, including 302 rushing. HCHS racked up 379 yards, with 335 rushing.
“Coming into the game, we thought that we would really be in good shape defending Henderson County and that we might struggle to move the ball early because they’re really good on the defensive line,” Fallin said. “It kind of ended up being just the opposite. They really moved the ball on us throughout the course of the game even late, but we kind of moved the ball at will.”
OHS scored on the first play from scrimmage and led the rest of the way. Kasey Boone connected with Khalil Rogers for a 62-yard touchdown.
Henderson responded with a long drive but fumbled on the 1-yard line, with Jeremiah Goodwin on the recovery for the first major defensive play of the game. A few minutes later, it was the special teams making an impact when Maurice Moorman returned a punt 59 yards for a touchdown. A missed extra point left OHS up 13-0 late in the first quarter.
The Colonels finally found paydirt when Jaheim Williams broke free for a 36-yard touchdown run. A missed extra point left them trailing 13-6 early in the second quarter.
Fallin said the Colonels came out with an offensive look that was largely unexpected.
“Henderson came out tonight and they were really committed to their split back veer look,” he said. “They’ve only shown that a handful of times throughout the course of the season, so we didn’t invest a ton in prepping for it. That’s something that if you’re not ready for it, you’re gonna look like we did on defense in the first half.”
The teams traded another pair of touchdowns with steady drives in the second quarter. Owensboro’s was capped off by a 20-yard pass from Boone to Ethan Pendleton, while Williams scored his second touchdown with a 1-yard push up the middle.
With about 30 seconds left until halftime, Owensboro put together another scoring drive of which Fallin was especially proud.
Starting on their own 40, quickly crossed midfield. Boone tossed his third touchdown of the night, hitting Eli Early in stride up the right sideline to push Owensboro’s lead to 27-12 with 3.7 seconds left in the half.
“That was huge going into the half to give us another score and breathing room,” Fallin said.
OHS executed another special teams play by recovering a pooch kick to open the second half. However, a penalty was called because the kicking team can’t touch the ball before it hits the ground, giving Henderson possession on a short field.
The Colonels capitalized, with Williams breaking off a 28-yard touchdown run for his third trip to the end zone. The 2-point conversion was stuffed, but the Colonels were within 27-18 with 9:27 left in the third quarter.
That’s when Tramel Barksdale took over for the Red Devils. His first impressive run was a 37-yard carry where he bowled over a handful of defenders to reach the endzone.
After Kenyatta Carbon recovered a fumble near midfield, OHS added to their lead when Boone again connected with Early, this time an 11-yard strike for a 41-18 advantage with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
The Red Devils got a 4th-down stop on the ensuing Colonels’ possession, and Barskdale punished defenders again with a gritty 42-yard gain on the next play. He later finished off the drive with an easy 3-yard carry to put OHS up 48-18 early in the fourth quarter.
“I can’t say enough about the offensive line and Tramel in the second half,” Fallin said. “A couple of times, I’m over on the sideline yelling go down, and he gets loose and gains 15 yards. He’s just really strong, he’s really elusive, he’s hard to tackle, he’s got great vision.”
Boone added to his impressive night with a 25-yard scamper for a touchdown for the final score of the game.
“Though he didn’t throw it a ton, no question his best game,” Fallin said. “All his touchdown passes were thrown really well at the right moment, then a big touchdown run at the end. He’s faster than people think he is.”
Boone finished 10-15 passing with 174 yards through the air. Barksdale had 174 yards on 15 carries, with Carbon adding 59 yards on seven carries. Rogers caught four passes for 77 yards, both team highs.
Xander Early had a team-high eight tackles. Goodwin added seven, including two sacks and four tackles for loss.
“Overall I think it was probably our most complete performance of the year,” Fallin said. “I think we looked like a contender tonight, so I’m excited about that moving forward.”
OHS will begin the postseason this Thursday when they host Grayson County at 6:30 p.m.
